On Thursday, Slovakia’s parliament passed the Whisteblower Act, which was drafted by the Interior Ministry and designed to provide protection for whistleblowers reporting on illegal practices.
The legislation was passed by 115 out of 128 lawmakers present. Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák doesn't expect people to start reporting illegal and corrupt practices en masse in the wake of the Whistleblower Act implementation, but instead he predicts a few dozen complaints every year concerning mostly state administration malpractice and corruption.
According to the ministry, it is often company employees who possess relevant information about corruption practices who are the most in need of protection from the potential retaliation of their employers. In order to increase their motivation to whistleblow, Slovakia will offer those who come forward free-of-charge legal representation and protection as well as a potential financial bonus if the perpetrator of the crime they reported is convicted.
According to Kaliňák, the new law is to guarantee whistleblowers that they won't lose their jobs. “We want to extend to them guarantees that their jobs and previous relations will be protected. We want them to not fear reprisals but instead come forward and report practices that are either violating the law or legal norms”, said the minister.
Kaliňák added that he is not worried about the Whistleblowing Act being abused. “There's the threat of libel and false testimony to take into account [for bogus whistleblowers] and it's up to the prosecutor to determine whether the report is made up or not”, said the minister.
